Treating of metal articles.



J. C. RUSSELL.

TREATING oF METAL ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILEDDEG.5,1910.

Patented Nov. 14, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

077. @a/ww J. C. RUSSELL. TRBA'TING of METAL ARTICLES. vAPEL-IGATIONFILED DEC.5,1910.

. 1,008,674, I Patented N'0V.114, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Zvz'nesse: Ingen for:

JAMES C. RUSSELLOF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

TREATING F METAL ARTICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 14, 1911.

Application filed December 5, 1910. Serial No; 595,814.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES C. RUSSELL, a resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Treating .of Metal Articles; and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to the treating ofv metal articles, such as steel railroad rails, bars,plates, channels and other similar'articles, and has special reference to soft steel ,or low carbon articles.

The object of my invention is 'to provide' a cheap, simple and' efficient` method for treating a soft or low carbon steel article,

which will enable such articlerto be hardened' by Such treatment so that it may be used..

for the purpose for which it is desired, such as in the treatment of rails and other articles to take t-he placeof ahigh carbon steel article.

To these ends my invention `consists, generally stated, in the novel method of treating metal articles, as hereinafter more speciically set forth and described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

To enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to practice and use my improved method of treating metal articles, I willv describe the same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, in which A r Figure 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus for carrying out my improved method for treating metal articles. larged side view of one of the troughs employed. Fig.- 3 is a horizontal, section on the line 3 3, Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 4 is an enlarged crosssection on the line 4 4, Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross-section on the line 5 5, Fig.y 2 showing some'of the parts in full lines and looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 6 is a sectional plan view on the line 6 6, Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 7 is a sectional side view on the line 7 7, Fig. 3. Fig. 8 is a detailed view of one of the traps employed. Fig.. 9 is a side elevation of rolls employed in the troughs for use-in treating different articles and di'erent sizes of same.

- by the bolts 8.

Fig. 2 is an en,

`Like s mbols of reference herein indicate llke parts in each of the figures of the draw-- ing.

As illustrated in the drawings, the apparatus for carrying out my invention is `shown at A, and preferably consists of two troughs 1 and 2, which are separate from each other, and between which is thereheating furnace 3, throughA which the articles 'are passed from the trough 1 to the trough 2. The troughs 1 and 2 are provided with a bottom 4 therein which is set at an incline and is connected to the sides 5 of said troughs in any suitable manner. f An opening 6 is formed in the sides of said troughs l-and 2 and at the downward side of the inclined bottoms 4 therein, which openings lead fromv saidltroughs to a drain trough 7 at'that side of said troughs, and the size of such openings is regulated or is closed by means of an adjustable trap plate 8 mounted onsuch sides An overflow box 9 is formed at the front end of each of the drain troughs 7, and from the same a pipe (not shown) can be connected for draining anywateij collected in said troughs when desired. An opening 10 is formed in the rear end of the drain troughs 7, which is opened and closed by means of an adjustable gate l0 supported'by bolts 1'1 on said ends -and mounted in slots 11 within such gate to regulate the height of the same. l

Within the troughs. 1 and 2 are a serles of ,upper and lowerrolls 12 and 13-which are journaled in the sides 5' in said troughs in the usual manner by their shafts 12? and the upper and lovv'eft rolls at the entering or front ends of said troughs are placed in a vertical line with each other, while the balance of said rolls are staggered with each caring (not shown) i usual source of power to operate such 'rolls thereby. Extendingbetween the sides 5 bf the troughs 1 and 2 is an inner trough 14 which is preferably formed by means of side plates 15, which are connectedat their bottom edges to the bottom 4 and one of' the sides 5, and at their upper ends to the top plate 16 to 'form an air tight trough and conne any flames from the oil therein, as hereinafter described. At the front and rear of the troughs land 2 and within the same is a vertical wall 17 which is adapted to form an overflow compartment 18 in said troughs between said walls and the end walls 18 of said troughs, and between the said front and end wall and leadin from the lower end of the compartments 18 1s a drain pipe 19. Within an opening 20 in each of the walls 17 and 18 ofthe troughs 1 and 2 is a trap or valve device 2() which is composed of the gate or outer valve block 21 adapted to slide in the grooves 21 by its flanges 21 in said walls, and the pivoted inner' valve block 22 located under said block and fitting in said opening, such innervalve block have.

ing thel opening 22 in the same of the shape of the (article such as the head and web of the rail passing through the same and bein adapted to adjust itself in said opening 20 such as by the rail passing through the same as hereafter described, so that it and such rail Will maintain a horizontal position for the passing of said. rail through said troughs.l p

Within the troughs 1 and 2 are the rollers l 23 which are located between the front and intermediate rolls 12 and 13 and at the rear of the troughs, and are vertically mounted and provided with flanged portions 23- above their body portions 23. These rollers 23 are journaled in bearings 24 w1th' in the troughs 1 and 2, and are slidably mounted on the rods 24 extending through said bearings and through the side walls 5 of said troughs and side plates 15 of the are adapted to be adjusted to any desire position with respect to the openings between said rollers by bolts 25 bearing against said bearings and extending through said walls and plates.

Within each of the troughs 1 and 2 is a' bathl 26 of a cooling medium, for-extendinglentirely around the article to be treated,

the formerbeing composed of oil and water, and the latter being only of water. Water' for each of these baths enters the troughs lx and 2 by means of pipes 27 entering through the end walls 17 and 18 of said troughs, which pipes lie parallel with the side of the head on the rail to be heated, and such pipes are provided with perforations 'or openin 27 therein and at intervals throughout the lengths of the same within said troughs for theentrance of waterin said troughs to said baths. Entering through the walls 17 and 18 on the front end of the trough 1 and below the water pipes 27 are the oil pipes 28 which open into said troughs and wit-hin the bath 26 for forming part of said bath.

The reheating furnace 3 which is located between the troughs 1 and 2 is provided with a reheating chamber 29 within the same which extends entirely through said furnace, and extending within said chamber and above and belowthe same are the idle rollers 30 for bearing against the top and bottom of the article reheated therein, and passing from the trough 1 to the trough 2 as hereinafter described. Located centrally of the furnace 3 and at intervals throughout its length are a series of gas pipes 31 which extend through the bottom of said furnace and open into the chamber 29, such pipes being provided at the upper ends of the same and within said chamber with T-burners 32 extending out fromA the sides of the same. Directly opposite to each of the T-burners 32 are a series of gas pipes 33 which extend through the sides of said furnace andopen into the chamber 29.

In the use and operation of the apparatus A in the treating of metal articles under my invention and in connection with an article, such as the ordinary soft steel railroad rail, as shown, is as follows: After the finished rail a leaves the usual devices for sawing the same into proper lengths and while in a heated condition it is passed in anysuitable manner through the opening 20 in the wall 18 of the trough '1, over the com. partment 18 therein and through' the opening 20 in the wall 17 into the bath 26 in the inner trough 14 of said trough. As the front or entering end o f the rail a thus enters and passes into the trough 1 it willstrike against the blocks21 of the traps 20 in the walls 18 and 17' and raise the same in their guides 21 in said walls, so that such rail will enter the pivoted blocks 22 in such .walls and maintain the same to a horizontal position in the openings 20 in said walls as well as vprevent the bath 26 in such trough from escaping into the compartments 18 or any air entering through the walls 18 during'the passingof the rail into and through the trough 1. After the entering end of the rail a has passed the Walls 18 and 17 and vhas entered the bath 26 in the trough 1,

such bath will completelycover the same and it will be caught by the first two forward rolls-12 and 13, with its head b tting in the groove 13 in the lowerroll 13 and with .the bottom of its flange o against thel flat face 12" on the upper roll 12. After such rail a is so caught by the forward rolls 12 and 13, it is drawn forward thereby so that it can pass through and between the rollers 23 in the trough 1, which will allow the flange portions 23 on said rollers to bear againsty the flange c and web d of said rail and the body nortions 23" thereon to bear against the sides of the rail head b, and

' such r'ail is guided in a straight horizontal shape and alinement.

line by said rolls and rollers engaging with the head b, flange c and web d of the same, and will keep sald rail in its proper finished entering end of the rail a has passed the rear rollers 23 in the trough l.it passes through the openings 20 in the rear end walls 17 and 18 yof said trough and pivoted blocks 22 in said walls, as well as over the rear compartment 18 and strikes against the gate blocks 21, .which will maintain said blocks in their horizontal positions and open upsaid passageway 20 by said blocks in raising the same in their guides 21 in said walls, so that such rail end after entering the opening 20 in the rear end wall 18 will allow such rail to pass out of said trough. During the passing of the rail ci through the trough 1 it will be submerged entirelyin the bath 26 of oil and the water to harden the same, which bath will be constantly agitated by the movement of the rolls 12 and 13 and rollers' 23 within the same, Vas well as by the passing of the rail through said bath and by the water entering such bath from the 4pipes 27 located above the oil 'entrance pipes 28, which will enable such oil to pass up through the water'Y 1n sald bath in seeking its level on account of such oil being of less specific gravity than such water. envelop the entire rail a, and the water from the pipes 27 forced against the head of the rail will tend to displace most of the oil from said head and create a constant agitation of the oil and water around the head, while the web ci and flange e of the rail will be immersed in substantially an oil bath, with some small amount of water from the pipes 27 which creates the agitation around the rail v,head mixing with the oil around the -web and ,Bange of the rail. Y

As the rail a thus passes out of the trough 1 itenters the chamber 29 of the reheating furnace 3 and between the rollers 30 therein, where such rail during its passage through said chamber will be reheated by the gas emittingfrom the pipes 31 and 33 therein against the rail head b to reduce the temper o' the head of said rail, as well as to burn off any oil remaining on said 'rail from the oil and water in the bath v26,v sothat said vrail will at oncebe subjected to the After the front or This will tend to completelyv water in the bath 26 of the trough 2 to hold the temper at the degree in' the same to which it has been drawn by the furnace 429 of the reheating furnace 3 enters and passes through the trough 2 in like manner, as in the trough 1, andthe entire rail is submerged in the water bath in the same, and after the rail has left ,the troughs 1 and 2 and the traps 20 therein, thegate blocks 21 will drop down in their guides 21 in the walls 17 and 18 of said troughs to close the openings 20. for the raily in said Walls and the pivoted blocks 22 vto be positioned in said openings for receiving another rail to be treated, while the gate blocks 21 in the inner walls 17 will prevent any oil or water from escaping from the troughs 1 and 2 into the compartments 18, and the inner trough 14 will act to prevent any leakage of the the bearings for the rollers and through the sides of the said troughs. l

While the rail a is thus passing through the troughs 1 and 2 and being treated by the baths 26 in such troughs, any overflowing or escaping of the oil and water from such baths caused by the movement of said rail ings 20 in the walls 17 at the front and rear ments 18 at such ends, where it can be drawn olf by the pipes 19 into a suitable receptacle or be returned to the baths therein, as desired. During this passing of the rail 'a through the troughs 1 and 2, the water in the baths 26 in said troughs is drained therefrom into the drain troughs 7 through the openings 6 in the sides of said )troughs 1 and 2, as well as any scale from by the oil and water and water baths therein, which scale will pass down the inclined ybottoms 4 ,in said troughs and into the troughs 7 thro-ugh said openings to collect the same, while such water can pass from said drain troughs 7 through the openings 10v at the rear ends of said troughs into a suitable receptacle orbe returned to said troughs 1 and 2, as desired. In case of any overflow in the troughs 7 the water therefrom can be passed into the overiow boxes 9 in said troughs and be withdrawn therefrom -troughs 1 and 2, as desired, while any scale collected in the troughs 7 can be removed therefrom, as desired.

2 can be of sufficient width to enable two or more rails to be passed through the same at one time, or separate parallel troughs can be used for treating two or more rails at a time, and the rehea-ting furnace can be made to accommodate two or more rails therein .for treatment at one time, such as is shown The rail a in passing out of the chamber to a suitable receptacle or be returned to the' oil or water around the rolls, or supports for through the same will pass through the openi ends of said troughs and into the compartsaid rail through the treating of the same l It will be evident that the troughs 1 and by the two rails in Fig. 6. The reheating furnace can also be provided with the. usual pyrometer, which would keep such rail at a 'uniform heat, and where an article of a lighter weight is used a furnace can be placed in front of the trough l to heat article to a uniform temperature before be ing passed into said trough.

If desired, water pipes 27can be placed in the trough l and above the water pipes 27 ther-ein so that water can be passed from said pipes 27 into the bath 26 therein to further assist in agitating the oil and water composing said bath,`and it will be evident that the trough 2 and reheating furnace 3 may be dispensed with in the treatment of certain articles, so that only the single trough l with its bath of oil and water will thus be used for treating metal articles, while articles other than rails, such as bars, plates, rods, pipes, shear knives, steel cast-f lngs and otherarticles of either high or low carbon can be treated in like manner.

In Fig. 9 there is shown a set of upper and lower vertical rolls 34 and 35 to take the place of the rolls 12 and 13 in the troughs 1 and 2 for the drawing of different sizes of eye beams e through said troughs in the treating of the same by different sized passes34 and 35 on said rolls, and on one side of said rolls the horizontal rollers 36 and 37 are shown in dotted lines for bearing against the 'flanges on said beams, and the other side of said rolls can be used in the drawing of angle -bars by the pass 35' inv said rolls, when it is desired to treat the same in said troughs. In case it is desired to draw and treat channel bars e', the side of the rolls 34 and 35 in the rolling of the eye beams e can be used.

Various other modifications and changes in carrying out the method or process employed in my vimproved treating of metal articles may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.,

It will thus be seen that a very soft tough steel or low carbon steel railroad rail or other metal article, such as one of about three-tenths of one per cent. or four-tenths of one per cent. carbon can be treated so that it will become much harder than before treating and when being so hardenedsuch article and enable it to be hardened at a higher heat to make it a better article and of a better quality when combined with the oil than the ordinary` high carbon article, suchas a rail, as the oil seems to have an affinity for the steel by closing up the pores of the same and adding greatly to its strength.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. The process oftreating metal articles, consisting in subjecting a heated article simultaneously to the action of a bath composed of two cooling medii,'o'ne portion being subjected to the action of oil and another portionbeing subjected to the action of water by passing the article Athrough said bath and parallel to its surface.-

2. The rocess of treatingrails, consisting in subjecting a heated finished rail simultaneously to the .action of two cooling medii, the web and flange being subjected to the action of oil and the headl being subjected to the action of water. y

3. The process oftreating1 metal articles, comprising thestep of passing the hot article through a cooling medium bath of oil lwhich surrounds said article, and projecting degree of hardness in said article-caused by said reheating.

, 5. The process of treating metal articles, comprising the steps of passing the hot article through a cooling medium bath of oil which surrounds said article, projecting a stream of water upon a ortion of said article, then reheating sai article to reduce its hardness, and then passing the article through a cooling medium bath of water to hold the degree of hardness in said article caused by said reheating.

6. The process of treating rails, comprising the step of passing the hot nished rail through a` cooling medium bath of foil which surrounds said rail, and projecting a stream of water upon the head of the rail.

7 The process of treating rails, comprising the steps of passing the hot finished rail through a 'cooling medlum bath of oil which surrounds saidY rail, projecting a stream of water upon the head of the rail, then reheating said rail to reduce its hardness, and then passing the same through a'cooling bath to hold the degree of hardness in said rail causedby said reheating.

8. The process of treating rails, comprising the steps of passin the hot finished rail through .a cooling me ium bath of oil and .water which surrounds said rail, projectin a stream o f water upon the head of the ra' then reheating said rail to reduce its hardnessz and then passing the same through a cophng bath of 'water to hold the degree of hardness in said rail caused lby said reheatin 9. T e process of treating metal articles, comprising the step of passing the hot article through a'cooling medium bath of oilvwhich surrounds. said article, and projecting a stream of water lthrough the oil and against said article. i v

In testimony whereof, I, the said JAMES 'C. RUSSELL, have hereunto set my hand.

- JAMES o. RUSSELL. Witnesses:

* T. B. HUMPHRmS,

JAMES L. WEHN. 

